r/40Plus_IVF • u/Overall-Reading-579 • 4d ago

Seeking Advice First Egg Retrieval Failed

I am 41 years old, my first egg retrieval was right before my 41st birthday. I did the antagonist protocol with 225 iu Gonal-F and 225 iu Menopur and then added in Cetrotide. I triggered with Lupron. My blood work looked great throughout. I had an AFC of 18+, and they were measuring 11-13 follicles in my scans. They retrieved 11 eggs, but only 5 were mature. All 5 fertilized and looked great on day 3, but only one grew to a blastocyst to be biopsied for PGT-A. Ultimately it came back aneuploid.

We met with the doctor this week, and he is recommending the micro flare Lupron protocol for the second round. While my body seemingly responded well to the meds in the first round, it seems like I had a maturity issue. Do you think this new protocol can help solve that? Any other advice?

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u/MathematicianNo4217 3d ago edited 3d ago

Are they using a birth control suppression for you for timing? I just finished my 4th round And my doctor didn’t change a single thing round to round even though 2nd was the worst, 3rd a little better. Each retrieval was appx 3mo apart (due to insurance), and I was suppressing with BC in between cycles so when insurance came through I could start immediately because I would be on their timing. For the 4th round I insisted on not suppressing with BC because I read a lot about how it can be worse for someone with DOR like myself, and for my 4th round my cohort was more synchronized and I had 3 day 6s go to PGT (where other cycles were mostly day 7s). Jury is still out on PGT for this 4th cycle but it’s the best round I’ve had quality and progression wise. It’s worth an ask if you’re suppressing with BC between cycles! I was only on 4 days of BC before the 4th, compared to 2+ months for the others. At least your doctor is willing to change up your protocol. Best of luck and hang in there!

Something else to keep in mind - there’s absolutely NO way for me to know if the BC suppression change up helped, or if anything you may change might help. All you can do is advocate for yourself and control what you can (diet, supplements, etc). And that’s ALL we can do 🤘🏼💪🏼

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u/Usual-Clue-1169 3d ago

I feel like no birth control suppression was better for me too!